University of Birmingham Online
Online MSc Bioinformatics
UK Online, United Kingdom
MSc
DURATION
30 months
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Part time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
EARLIEST START DATE
02 Mar 2026
TUITION FEES
GBP 18,265
STUDY FORMAT
Distance Learning
Key Summary
Online MSc Bioinformatics Drive discoveries for today’s data-driven health and life science industries and academic institutions by learning how to extract meaningful information from complex data sets at one of the top universities for biological and computer science.
The University of Birmingham’s Online MSc Bioinformatics is well-suited for professionals from biological, computer science, or mathematics backgrounds. It supports careers in biostatistics, pharmaceutical science, and medical data analytics. This degree is also suitable for those who want to pursue PhD studies or conduct research for pharmaceutical corporations, governmental agencies, and medical journals and publications.
Embrace data-driven bioscience
The Online MSc Bioinformatics curriculum is grounded in the real world and is led by active researchers in bioinformatics and linked to institutions such as University Hospitals Birmingham. This helps you develop the practical skills you need to further your career in this cutting-edge field.
To enter the field of bioinformatics, you’ll need to be able to process large-scale raw data and have the scientific curiosity, mindset, and motivation to work on problems relating to biology and medicine. With an internationally recognised degree credential from the University of Birmingham, you’ll build this knowledge to transition into a variety of roles successfully.
Top jobs in bioinformatics
- Bioinformatics analyst
- Bioinformatics scientist/technician
- Bioinformatician
- Pharmaceutical scientist
- Biostatistician
- Data scientist (medical)
- AI architect (medical)
Enhance your real-world experience
This programme is founded on real-world experience and is designed to help you build the practical skills you need to advance your career. The intrinsically multidisciplinary Centre for Computational Biology delivers the programme, which is well-suited to help biologists and healthcare professionals interested in data analysis, statisticians, and computer scientists apply their skills to health and biology.
The programme delivery is combined with hands-on coding exercises, to ensure you leave your studies with both the theory and the practical skills ready for your chosen career. The centre is also integrated with the University Hospitals Birmingham, which was a major contributor to the 100,000 Genomes Project, giving your studies both a real-world and career-centred character.
The University of Birmingham is providing 26 scholarships, each worth £3,000, which are available for all master’s degree programs, excluding PGCerts, for the start dates in February, March, June, and July.
The programme’s internationally focused and expertly taught modules offer the flexibility and convenience of a 100% online format. Enjoy eight-week modules that will grow your programming, communication, and modelling skills.
It is a 180-credit full master's programme which takes approximately two and a half years to complete. There are twelve 10-credit taught modules and a 60-credit dissertation. You will take six 10-credit core modules in your first year, followed by six 10-credit core modules in your second year, with each module lasting approximately 8 weeks in total.
- Introduction to Biology and Programming (10 credits)
- Introduction to probabilities (10 credits)
- Essentials of Statistical Modelling (10 credits)
- Introduction to genomics and next-generation sequencing (10 credits)
- Applied genomics and next-generation sequencing (10 credits)
- Statistical machine learning (10 credits)
- Health data analytics (10 credits)
- Scientific Communication (10 credits)
- Concepts in metabolomics and advanced (omics) technologies (10 credits)
- Applied metabolomics and advanced (omics) technologies (10 credits)
- Essentials of complex systems (10 credits)
- Computational biology for complex systems (10 credits)
- Top 100 world-leading universities (QS 2025, 2025)
- Ranked 14thin the UK (Complete University Guide 2024)
- Russell Group University member
- Universitas 21 university member
- 1st Choice for Graduate Employers (High Fliers ’24)
- 8th in the World for Life Sciences and Medicine (QS ’24)


